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Six Questions With New Councilman Ken Jones

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Ken Jones was elected as Greenburgh council member in November. While he has been a homeowner in the town since 2003, he has lived in the area on and off since 1984. The house where he now lives has been in his family since 1929. He began his duties as town councilman on Jan. 1, 2012.

The Daily Greenburgh: Are you excited to begin your new position?

Ken Jones: Yeah, I am. I'm looking forward to working with the other board members. I think it's going to be exciting, and I'm hoping that we can get some work done. I'm hoping to be a part of some positive work.

TDG: What talents do you bring to the councilman position from your other job as a lawyer?

KJ: I'm a practicing attorney, so I have a working knowledge of the law. I know where to look for things if I don't the answers to them. I'm not afraid to ask questions. I am a strategic planner, I'm a negotiator. I feel as though I'm a coalition builder. I bring these skills to the table with the hopes that we can quell some of the rancor that's out there and actually respond to constituent concerns.

TDG: Name a few changes you would like to see in government.

KJ: I'd like to see us be more responsive faster. In the town board meetings, I would like to see us do a little more answering there. I think we just want to make sure that we're more transparent and that we really try to find solutions to the issues that constituents bring to us. It's my job to advocate for your opinion based on the knowledge you've brought to me.

TDG: What lesson did you learn as a child that helps you in your current job?

KJ: Always listen. And if you don't understand or if something doesn't make sense to you, ask questions until you understand and it makes sense before you offer up a solution. Because talking off of the cuff often gets you nowhere. I think that over the years, I'm become a really good listener. And I'm able to separate the opinion from the fact, and focus on the facts and deal with them.

TDG: How would you best describe Greenburgh and its residents?

KJ: It's certainly a large multi-cultural town, in which, it seems, people generally get along and are respectful with each other. It's a great place to live. We have a lot of wonderful services and we pay handsomely for them. I think it's, by and large, a place where people are educated and tolerant and friendly and welcoming and interested and civic-minded. It's a nice place to be. It's a really nice place. We're fortunate to be in a place like this in this part of the country at this time.

TDG: Tell us a little known fact about you that you would not mind sharing?

KJ: My grandfather was a professional tennis player and my father was a semi-professional tennis player. That is a little known fact, but that's not about me. I like to write fiction. If I could, I would write fiction. My wife is an artist; if I could, I would sit beside her and draw. I don't really get to do a lot of artistic stuff, but I'm a lover of art. I like to draw and I like to write. But I haven't done anything that's worthy of a frame.

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